After 23 seasons in the NBA, what keeps driving LeBron James? He’s already accomplished more than enough to earn a first-ballot nod into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
A four-time MVP and four-time NBA Finals champion, with 21 First-Team All-NBA selections, who has been named to 22 All-Star teams. Oh, and he’s also the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. What else does he have to prove?
LeBron James Debated Retirement, But Felt Incomplete
What keeps James motivated? Feeling like he has unfinished business.
Recently, The Athletic’s David Aldridge revealed that the 41-year-old James debated retirement shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff exit. But that didn’t feel right.
“James did indeed contemplate retirement after the Lakers were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round,” Aldridge wrote.
“But he felt ‘incomplete,’ the source said, in assessing the season. He’d been incredible in L.A.’s first-round upset of the Houston Rockets, playing without Luka Dončić for the whole series and with Austin Reaves for just 64 total minutes in six games. But James also saw that he’d been able to be a supporting cast member in the regular season, when Dončić was healthy and at his best, and Reaves became a dependable second scoring option.”
For James, the idea of walking away when he clearly still has some premium fuel left in the tank just didn’t sit right with him. Some icons won’t retire until they know they have nothing left.
Or, in this case, maybe James wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, knowing he’s still able to dominate, even if only for a series at a time. Either way, it’s clear that James still has something to offer, and now he’ll bring those skills to the Philadelphia 76ers.
While James averaged 20.9 points per game during the regular season, he elevated his play once the postseason arrived. During the playoffs, James increased his scoring output to 23.2 PPG.
As Aldridge alluded to, James saw he could “be a supporting cast member” at times during the regular season, but when his team needed to be an alpha again in the playoffs, he flipped the switch.
Chances are, the 76ers won’t need him to shoulder the scoring load on a nightly basis either. He can be a key cog in the machine, serving in a supporting role from game to game. But when his number gets called, James believes he’ll still be able to deliver.
